Jake was suddenly in my head. “That’s what killed Jivo?”
“Yes.” Alarm flared to life. How had the Jackass breached my shields?
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Jake said as he shared the image with General Jones.
“Neither have I.” General Jones teleported up and studied Jivo’s corpse. “I have a shuttle coming to transport the body and Shrek will do a complete autopsy. Zarek’s informing the family.”
Father’s worried voice sounded in my head, “There’s been another murder.”
“Where?”
“Outside Many Farms.”
A knot of apprehension formed in my gut. Had the Chupacabra hit again? “Any details?”
“All I know is a tourist found a woman’s body on a hiking trail and called it in,” Father answered.
“Do we have a cause of death?”
“No, Mellie said the comm-link kept cutting out. Sergeant Thomas is coming to pick us up.”
“The General and the Jackass can deal with this crime scene. By the time I climb down, Thomas will be here,” I said walking over to the edge of the pinnacle.
“You could ask the General to teleport you down.”
“And explain why? Not a chance.” I eased myself over the edge of the eight-hundred-foot high spire and lowered myself into a crevasse. Previous climbers had chiseled handholds into the rock, and I used them to climb down.
“Going somewhere?” The Jackass snarled from a foot away.
The idiot was hanging from a ledge by one hand. I knew Coletti warriors were strong, but seriously, not a smart move. “I have other duties that need my attention.” I yelped when the Jackass grabbed my weapons belt and I was suddenly dangling seven hundred feet above the ground. I latched onto him. “Are you fucking nuts?”
Jake bared his fangs. “What duties? And if you lie to me, you won’t like the consequences.”
“Answer him CeeCee,” Father ordered.
“There’s been a murder and I need to investigate it.”
“Another murder?” Jake’s eyes narrowed in pure exasperation. “And you didn’t think to tell us?”
“The victim isn’t a Coletti warrior.”
The cocky bastard smiled as he released his hold on the ledge and we abruptly plummeted earthward.
A terrified scream broke from me. There was a flash of black and we were at the base of Spider Rock. A relieved breath broke from me. We hadn’t gone splat! My relief quickly turned to anger. “You did that on purpose.”
Jake smirked. “Now tell me about the new homicide.”
“There’s a dead woman outside Many Farms, which is my jurisdiction, not yours.”
“Nevertheless, you will keep us informed.” He cocked his head. “What kind of modifications did you do to your stun gun?”
That’s when I realized I was still wrapped around him like a limpet. I could feel the color rushing to my cheeks. Damn. “None of your business.” Unlocking my arms and legs, I slid down his rock-solid body and stomped away.
“Was it good for you too?” He whispered in my head.
I gave him the one-fingered-salute and noticed Uncle Jesse wading out to hook a tow chain to the charred vehicle. I hurried toward him and stumbled to a stop as a spine-chilling howl erupted in my mind. It was followed by brief flashes of Jivo making a run for it in the jeep. Whoosh! A Molotov cocktail exploded in the backseat. Once again Jivo didn’t teleport. He dove into the water to escape the flames.
“Hold up there. I need to scan the vehicle before you tow it,” Jake called and slanted me an irritated look. “Gotta see if it was hit by a Molotov cocktail.”
Cold fear knotted my stomach. How was he doing this? Had teleporting with the Jackass created a mental link of some kind? If so, I was in big trouble.
Jake teleported to the jeep and scanned it with his warrior’s bracelet. “You’re right CeeCee. It was hit by a Molotov cocktail.”
I glared at him. “Officer Tsosie. Only my friends call me CeeCee.”
“Oh, we’re going to be more than friends, CeeCee,” Jake replied.
I sucked in a calming breath. I was a trained police officer and shaman. I could deal with the Jackass.
“Crank her up,” Uncle Jesse called.
A smile touched my mouth. The Jackass was perched on the hood. I hit the winch control button and the jeep jerked violently. Jake pitched forward and poof he vanished only to reappear next to me. “Nice try.”
Sergeant Thomas pulled up in an ancient SUV.
I hurried over to him.
Through the open driver’s window, Thomas said, “Yellowhorse says the victim was ripped apart and partially eaten.”
“Did the witness see anything?”
“No, she just found the body.”
“I’m coming with you,” Jake announced.
“But…”
Father cut me off. “We welcome your help.”
“What are you doing Father?”
“If we have an alien shapeshifter killing people, we’ll need their help. We don’t have the Coletti Empire’s resources, and I won’t let more people die unnecessarily.” Father stated firmly.
Father was right, but how long would it take the General or Jake to realize I wasn’t Navajo? The murders also gave the Overlord and Central Command a legitimate reason to interfere in Navajo Nation’s business.
A shuttle dropped from the sky and hovered over Spider Rock. General Jones was suddenly standing by the SUV. “My warriors will finish processing this crime scene. I want to examine the new victim. Have your officer take pictures of the area and send them to my scanner.”
Father tapped his commlink and relayed his instructions to Officer Yellowhorse. A couple of minutes later the General had his photos. He touched an icon and holographic images of the slaughtered woman appeared in front of us.
Damn. The woman’s injuries matched those of Jivo’s. We had an alien serial killer on our hands.
A frown shadowed the General’s features. “How many homicides did you work at Phoenix P.D. Jake?”
“Twenty-eight, Uncle Saul.”
Uncle Saul? Shit the Jackass was Jake Jones, the police officer who had single-handily stopped the Tai-Kok assault on south Phoenix. What had happened to turn the hero into an arrogant prick?
“CeeCee has solved four murders,” Father stated proudly.
What? Oh, hell no. I wasn’t working with the Jackass. Before I could protest Father
